Latakia Blend Tasting Test

[Butter Side Down]

D: GLP Rennaissance (2004)

Judging by tobaccoreviews.com, there are quite a lot of people who think this is better than Bohemian Scandal. I don't agree but I also don't think it's worth arguing about because it's still a very good blend. For me, this is a solid good medium english/balkan. And, probably better than most of them. It hits all the right notes at the right times in the right ways. It has a certain je ne sais quoi of it's own. I can't tell why I don't like it more than I do. I know I really should. And I do think it's good. I'm just not crazy over it.

Why is this here? In concept and flavor, it's a great melding of Bohemian Scandal and Squadron Leader. And people really seemed to love it when it was available.

 

[Butter Side Down]

E: Balkan Sobranie 759 (1996)

This is from the Old Bond Street era (late 90's, round tin, gold lid, gold foil inner pack), so obviously not the legendary 70's era. I think it was probably better in the 70s. I haven't tried that version so I can't say. I'm really glad that a fair number of you really liked it. I've never really clicked with it so I'm glad it went to people who appreciated it. To me there's something that seems out of balance. And I get a floral, Lakeland-esque top note which I don't normally mind, but it doesn't really work for me in this context. Possibly funny story... I got this on ebay before the time when they started auto-correcting and standardizing spelling in listing titles. Hearken up you youngsters while I tell of a time you used to be able to score a bargain searching for Dumhill or Sharatan and such like! Someone had listed this as “Balkin Sobrain.” I don't remember the exact cost but I was the sole bidder and I got it for their minimum reserve price which they had set pretty low.

Why is it here: Like Bohemian Scandal, even if you don't like it, it's a touchstone, and something I wish everyone could try.

 

[Butter Side Down]

F: Smokers Haven Krumble Kake (2013)

First off, a confession. This was supposed to be Penzance; however, when I opened up my last tin, I discovered it had fallen victim to the well-documented and much feared lid seal failure. The contents were mostly dry as dust and the edges were covered in rust. Some was salvageable, but not nearly enough to go around. Going through what I had on had looking for a substutute, Krumble Kake seemed like the most fitting swap. Same blender. Much of the same constituent leaf, albeit in different proportions. So here we are. With that out of the way, on to Krumble Kake... I don't have a ton to say about this one. Fairly monotone, but it's a great, full, resonant single note so I don't have a lot to complain about. Bitter dark chocolate backed by a little bit of that famous salty oily Penzance umami that many try to describe but none can truly capture. That's true all through the first half of the bowl. The second half loses focus and turns bit ashy tasting for me. Maybe I should have learned my lesson and only smoked half bowls. Or maybe I just never found the right cadence.

Why is this here? If you're going to do a latakia tasting, you should have at least one thing that has an incredibly generous portion of latakia. And this stuff is absolutely dripping in it. But it's also deftly blended and not just a lat bomb.

 

[Butter Side Down]

Well, that's it folks. Again, I hope it was fun, or interesting, or at the very least gave you something to do with your time for a few hours a few times a week.

How did you all feel about it? Did learning the blends change your original perception at all or solidify it? Was there anything that you feel like you're going to start seeking out at any cost on tinbids, or do you feel pretty confident in knowing that there are a lot of current blends that are just as good?

 

[AcesAndEights]

Wow. I knew this was a very kind and generous thing that you did for us. But now I’m genuinely floored by just how generous it was! Thank you thank you for including me. Very fun and memorable experience!

 

[AcesAndEights]

I bought a cellar from a guy about a year ago. Mostly run of the mill, every day stuff. Got it at a great price, so I went for it. There were a few gems in the mix as well. One of them was a tin of Squadron Leader with a bit of age. Now I’m excited to pop it. That was my second favorite of the samples!

 

[Pooh-Bah]

Learning the true identities of these blends has resulted only in a retroactive greater appreciation of them, and in the experiment's organizer.
I'm reasonably confident I can find the equal of Renaissance in current production, given time. ...Though I was also just reminded that tinbids exists, and shall add a browse once or twice a week to my routine.

 

[mingc]

I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't recognize Squadron Leader or Renaissance, both of which I should be intimately familiar with as I've smoked them quite of bit. The rest I've not had and am very glad that I've the chance to try them.

The lesson that I took away from this exercise is how difficult it is to assess a blend after you've typically heard all the hype, think you know what's in it, read the reviews, and developed expectations. Here in contrast, tasting almost completely blind, knowing only that there's latakia in it, allows one to be completely neutral and unbiased in a way that's otherwise impossible. This was a great way to judge a blend and the results have surprised me. For instance, I never thought I would think so little of Bohemian Scandal. Thank you, Butter Side Down!

 

[pipingfool]

Considering that I've never had the privilege of smoking any of these I don't feel too bad that I couldn't name them, but I think I got close on a couple.

That being said, this was an amazing exercise and opportunity. Thank you @Butter Side Down for the chance to try these gems.

 

[jerry]

This was all kinds of awesome! I wasn’t a participant, but I sure enjoyed reading this thread! Thank you!

 

[Indygrap]

Having just gotten into pipes & even more recently gotten into English blends, this was a huge treat. Trying something that I hear everyone rave about & knowing it’s no longer available is a special honor. Until now, I’ve never had Syrian Latakia, & I understand what the fuss is about.
Thank you again, @Butter Side Down. Incredibly generous & a very fun experience. I’m going to do my best to stay off tin bids, but, as the saying goes, “never trust a junkie” & baby I’m hooked!

 

[vosBghos]

This was great fun, many thanks to our host and all the players ...

 

[Mrs. Pickles]

Never thought I'd get to meet the legends like this. Thank you again for the running this generous experiment. Not only did we get to meet them, we got to do it without imposing any expectations.

We effectively got the experience of stumbling onto a tin of something new and unrecognizable at the corner store, getting a sample from the jolly tobacconist, and taking a match to it with an open mind. I can't imagine anyone's had that adventure with 759 in a while. A real privilege.

I'm not even two years with the pipe, and in that span of time I've probably spent less actual time smoking than I have spent reading about blends like these. The hours I've spent reading Tobacco Reviews and brimming with memetic desire is downright pathological.

Nothing trades in nostalgia quite like the world of pipe tobacco and for newcomers like me, it can seem like you've entered a hobby of longing for things you haven't experienced and probably never will. I get it, the sehnsucht is all part of the appeal, but with this experiment it was nice to have that fog lifted for a second.

What I mean is, sipping each and every one of these tobaccos was a delight, but sort of the best part was that none of them made me feel like the tobacco today is trash in comparison. They are nice and different, but the legends are yet mortals too.

Some other high-points from the big reveal:

1. Reading Butter Side Down's evocative takes on each tobacco and the thoughtful explanation on how the list was constructed. RIP your tin of Penzance. I hope you were still able to get a smoke out of a few flakes in its core.
2. Feeling delighted by both the few things I got right and how much I got wrong. Heck, I thought F wasn't a crumble cake. Turns out it was THE Krumble Kake.
3. @PA Piper Mike got his wish (and many of us too!) that "C" is "just an aged English that is still widely available."
Well, sometimes available. Long live the perfect hotdog.

 

[PA Piper Mike]

Never thought I'd get to meet the legends like this. Thank you again for the running this generous experiment. Not only did we get to meet them, we got to do it without imposing any expectations.

We effectively got the experience of stumbling onto a tin of something new and unrecognizable at the corner store, getting a sample from the jolly tobacconist, and taking a match to it with an open mind. I can't imagine anyone's had that adventure with 759 in a while. A real privilege.

I'm not even two years with the pipe, and in that span of time I've probably spent less actual time smoking than I have spent reading about blends like these. The hours I've spent reading Tobacco Reviews and brimming with memetic desire is downright pathological.

Nothing trades in nostalgia quite like the world of pipe tobacco and for newcomers like me, it can seem like you've entered a hobby of longing for things you haven't experienced and probably never will. I get it, the sehnsucht is all part of the appeal, but with this experiment it was nice to have that fog lifted for a second.

What I mean is, sipping each and every one of these tobaccos was a delight, but sort of the best part was that none of them made me feel like the tobacco today is trash in comparison. They are nice and different, but the legends are yet mortals too.

Some other high-points from the big reveal:

1. Reading Butter Side Down's evocative takes on each tobacco and the thoughtful explanation on how the list was constructed. RIP your tin of Penzance. I hope you were still able to get a smoke out of a few flakes in its core.
2. Feeling delighted by both the few things I got right and how much I got wrong. Heck, I thought F wasn't a crumble cake. Turns out it was THE Krumble Kake.
3. @PA Piper Mike got his wish (and many of us too!) that "C" is "just an aged English that is still widely available."
Well, sometimes available. Long live the perfect hotdog.

I'll be honest, I've never heard of half of these... the 2 GLP blends and the Smokers Haven... then again, I'm still kinda new to pipes (2018).

Being a Latakia lover, I fully enjoyed all 6 of these and would stock up on all of them if they were readily available. And holy crap, I'm ecstatic that I FINALLY got to experience Syrian Latakia... and it did not disappoint!

Yeah, I did get my wish! And I have quite a bit of squadron leader in my cellar... however, Butter, am I correct in thinking they changed the cut? The SL I have is a very thin ribbon, possibly even shag cut. The SL we smoked was a fairly normal, if not a little thicker, ribbon. Also, did the 2014 version contain Syrian Latakia as well? I just hope the SL I have ages like yours did! Thanks again for doing this.

And, not gonna lie...a saved a little bit from each pouch and have a small pipe's worth of each. Whoohoo! Bet your ass I'll be savoring each one of these!

 

[AcesAndEights]

It killed me not knowing what each was during the tasting, but looking back, I’m glad it was done blindly. Squadron Leader came in second for me, but I guarantee that wouldn’t have been the case if I knew what each blend was prior to smoking them. Power of suggestion and expectation is strong.

 

[Peter Turbo]

All I discovered from this was that I don't like well aged Latakia blends. A & B were my favorite if I had to pick, C & D I didn't like at all and E & F were pretty mid.

Thanks for the samples!

 

[Butter Side Down]

am I correct in thinking they changed the cut? The SL I have is a very thin ribbon, possibly even shag cut. The SL we smoked was a fairly normal, if not a little thicker, ribbon. Also, did the 2014 version contain Syrian Latakia as well? I just hope the SL I have ages like yours did! Thanks again for doing this.

Definitive answers on this will need to come from someone with longer history with the blend but my conjectures based on my experience are below.

Cut: I'm still working though the pound of Squadron Leader I bought in 2014. (I put down the pipe for nearly seven years... so it doesn't show as much restraint as it sounds like!) So that means I only really know what it was like from the time I started smoking it, maybe 2010-ish up to 2016. During all of that time the cut was definitely as you received it; a fairly broad ribbon cut with some occasional pieces that needed additional rubbing out and a few twigs here and there (with more twigs in the bulk for sure). If it's more shag-like now, then they definitely changed the cut at some point. Perhaps a regular smoker would be able to say when. I'd like to know too so I can be prepared next time I need to buy some.

Syrian: To the best of my knowledge, I don't think Squadron Leader has ever contained Syrian Latakia. Even if it did have it before I started smoking it, I think that by 2014 the majority of the world's supply of Syrian had been exhausted, so it's unlikely it would have been in the sample. At that time, most blends that contained it were either starting to get phased out and gobbled up by collectors, or the blenders were starting to (mostly silently) replace it with Cyprian.

For anyone interested in what happened to Syrian Latakia, there's a really fascinating article here.

 

[FLDRD]

At the risk of sounding redundant, I too learned that I am susceptible to the power of suggestion; tasting them blind was an excellent experiment for me.

And I also feel that I've gotten confirmation that there are not only plenty of blends for me to choose from in current production, but I consistently find that there are many (but not quite all) that are quite pleasing to me and this actually helped diminish any FOMO that I might have had.

 

[Mortamyhr]

Wow! I’m totally blown away! Never thought I’d have a chance to try many of these!

 

[Mortamyhr]

This has also made me a lot more comfortable with the Latakia blends I have that probably won’t get to in the next year or so. I was a little concerned about degradation, but these samples have shown to be very nice even with a couple decades of age! Once again, thank you for the experience!